Rarities of Piano Music, Husum 2011, vol. 23

Artur Pizarro
The Portuguese pianist Artur Pizarro, the winner of the Leeds
triennial piano competition in 1990, has enjoyed a distinguished
reputation and international career ever since, but has still found
time to visit Husum on several occasions. His first contribution
is a Nocturne by the French composer Louis Vierne. Vierne was
born blind with congenital cataracts: his sight was partially
restored by an operation when he was six, but he was still
functionally blind for the rest of his life. In spite of that, he was
a prolific composer and had a distinguished career as an organist.
It was César Franck who advised him to study the organ, and
after two years of lessons with Louis Lebel, beginning in 1886,
he was attending Franck’s organ class at the Paris Conservatoire
and studying harmony with him. After Franck died in 1890
he was succeeded by Charles-Marie Widor: Vierne became
Widor’s assistant at the Conservatoire the following year, and
his deputy at St. Sulpice from 1892. He won a first prize in
1894 at the end of his four years in the organ class.